Using the Discussion Board

Using the Discussion Board

The Discussion Board is a communication tool used to conduct class discussions. Because the discussions are asynchronous (not live), participants can respond at any time. Instructors can create forums that establish multiple topics of discussion. Discussions that take place in these forums are grouped in "threads" that contain the main message and all replies to that main message. All threads are logged and organized. Ideas to enhance a course with online discussion.

Step One: Create a Forum

New: Watch a closed-captioned movie that shows you how to create a Discussion Board forum in BeachBoard [opens a new window]

Forums are used to organize threads and must be manually created by the instructor.

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course in which you would like to add a Discussion Board forum.
  3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
  4. Under Course Tools, click the Discussion Board link.
  5. On the Discussion Boards page, click the name of your course [e.g., 2084_LBCMP_ECON_100_SEC01]
  6. Click the Add Forum button.
  7. Key in a name for the forum in the Name box [e.g., “Week 1 Discussion”, “Chapter 1 Discussion”] This is required.
  8. Key in a description of the forum in the Description box. This is optional.
  9. In Forum Availability, choose the appropriate availability and date restrictions.
  10. In Forum Settings, check the appropriate boxes if you choose to
    • Allow anonymous posts.
    • Allow author to remove own post.
    • Allow author to modify own published posts.
    • Allow post tagging. Instructors can create and apply text labels of their own choosing to messages in a forum; other Discussion Board users can read, filter, and search messages using the tags, but cannot create new ones. For faster Discussion Board page loading, do not allow message tagging.
    • Allow users to reply with quote. This allows users to include the text of the original message in any replies to that message. This is enabled by default.
    • Allow file attachments.
    • Allow members to create new threads.
    • Subscribe. If this is enabled, discussion board users can subscribe to a thread or a forum and receive email alerts once new messages are posted to that thread or forum. These messages can contain either a link to the new message itself or a link and the text of the new message. An instructor can choose to allow no subscriptions, subscriptions at the thread level, or subscriptions at the forum level. If subscription is enabled, the instructor can choose to have subscription email messages contain either the message contents or a link to the new discussion board post(s).
    • Allow members to rate posts. This enables a peer-review process that allows users to rate other users posts on a fixed, five point scale
    • Force moderation of posts. This requires that the instructor must manually review and approve all of the users' discussion board messages before those messages are posted to the forum.
    • Grade. Instructors can enable grading at the forum or thread level. See Step Four: Grade Discussion Board Participation (Optional) for more information.
  11. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

Step Two: Start a Thread

New: Watch a closed-captioned movie that shows you how to create a Discussion Board thread in BeachBoard [opens a new window]

Threads are a series of posts related to a similar topic. When creating a forum, the Instructor has the option of allowing or not allowing users to start threads. If threads are graded, users cannot start threads. Generally, the purpose of the forum will dictate whether or not users can start threads. A moderated, graded forum used to evaluate student performance will usually be tightly controlled. In this case, it would not be appropriate to allow users to create threads. Other forums are designed for users to share opinions and thoughts on tangential or unrelated topics. In this case, it is safe to allow users to create threads and spark discussions.

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains your Discussion Board forum.
  3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
  4. Under Course Tools, click the Discussion Board link.
  5. On the Discussion Boards page, click the name of your course [e.g., 2084_LBCMP_ECON_100_SEC01]
  6. Click the name of the forum in which you would like to start a new discussion thread.
  7. Click the Thread button
  8. Key in the thread’s subject in the Subject box
  9. Key in the thread’s message in the Message box.
  10. If you wish to attach a file to the thread,
    • To the right of Attachment local file, click the Browse button. This opens a Choose file pop-up window.
    • Find the file on your computer you wish to attach and click the Open button. This process is similar to the process of attaching a file to an email message.
  11. If you chose to enable Grade Threads [in the Forum Settings at Control Panel > Discussion Board > [COURSEID] > Modify], BeachBoard will display a third section that lets you choose if this thread will be graded and how many points it will be worth.
  12. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

Step Three: Read and Reply to a Discussion Board Post

New: Watch a closed-captioned movie that shows you how to read and reply to a Discussion Board post in BeachBoard [opens a new window]

Threads grow as users respond to the initial, and subsequent, posts. Replies build on one another to construct a conversation.

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains your Discussion Board forum.
  3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
  4. Under Course Tools, click the Discussion Board link.
  5. On the Discussion Boards page, click the name of your course [e.g., 2084_LBCMP_ECON_100_SEC01]
    Name of course
  6. Click the name of the forum whose messages you would like to read.
    Discussion Forum
  7. In the top right corner of the page, choose if you want the forum's posts to be displayed in a Tree View [recommended] or a List View.
    1. The Tree View presents the thread starter messages and their child messages. The child messages can be expanded and collapsed by using the plus/minus icon next to each message. Unread threads and posts are displayed in bold type; if a thread starter message has unread children, then the thread starter message is displayed in bold if its children are collapsed.
    2. The List View presents the list of threads in a tabular format. The threads can be sorted by clicking the carat [Carat Arrow] at the top of each column.
  8. To read a discussion board thread in the Tree View, click that thread's first post. This opens the Thread Detail page. The top half of the page shows all of the thread's posts, who made those posts, and when. The bottom half of the page shows the content of the first post in that thread. The next step is to either
    • Read each post individually. The post text will appear at the bottom of the page. Click the Next Post > link to advance to the next post.
    • Collect all of the thread's posts and read them all on one page. At the bottom of the top half of the page, choose Select All in the pull-down list and then click the Go button. Then, at the top of the page, click the Collect button. BeachBoard will display all of the thread's posts on on page in chronological order. This page can be printed if you choose [File > Print].
  9. To reply to a discussion board post, with a post open on your page click either the Reply or Quote button beneath the post's contents.
  10. Key in the reply’s subject in the Subject box.
  11. Key in the reply’s message in the Message box.
  12. If you wish to attach a file to the reply,
    • To the right of Attachment local file, click the Browse button. This opens a Choose file pop-up window.
    • Find the file on your computer you wish to attach and click the Open button. This process is similar to the process of attaching a file to an email message.
  13. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

Step Four: Grade Discussion Board Participation (Optional)

New: Watch a closed-captioned movie that shows you how to grade a Discussion Board forum or thread in BeachBoard [opens a new window]

In a classroom setting, students are often expected to participate in class discussions and that participation is part of the equation when assessing performance. Within a classroom, participation performance can be ambiguous. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate the student who is active but does not advance the discussion from the student that speaks less frequently but with greater impact.

Student interactions with the discussion board are a permanent record of participation. The instructor has the option to grade students at the forum level or at the thread level. In this way the instructor can accurately compare student participation to the expectations set forth.

Grade by Forum

Note: This feature is only available if you enable the Grade Threads setting in the Forum Settings [Control Panel > Discussion Board > [COURSEID] > Modify]

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains your Discussion Board forum.
  3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
  4. Under Course Tools, click the Discussion Board link.
  5. On the Discussion Boards page, click the name of your course [e.g., 2084_LBCMP_ECON_100_SEC01]
    Name of course
  6. To the right of the forum you wish to grade, click the grade icon.
  7. Click the Grade button to the right of the user you wish to assign a grade.
  8. This opens a page showing you all of that student's posts to that forum. At the top of the page, key in the student's grade.
  9. Click the Submit button.
  10. Click the OK button to return to the Grade Thread users page. Repeat steps 7, 8, and 9 for your remaining students

The grades that you enter appear in your course's gradebook [Control Panel > Gradebook].

Grade by Thread

Note: This feature is only available if you enable the Grade Forum setting in the Forum Settings [Control Panel > Discussion Board > [COURSEID] > Modify]

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains your Discussion Board forum.
  3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
  4. Under Course Tools, click the Discussion Board link.
  5. On the Discussion Boards page, click the name of your course [e.g., 2084_LBCMP_ECON_100_SEC01]
    Name of course
  6. Click the name of the forum whose messages you would like to grade.
    Discussion Forum Name
  7. In the top right corner of the page, click the List View button.
  8. In the far right-hand column, click the Enable button to choose the thread that you wish to grade.
  9. Enter the maximum number of points possible in the Points possible box.
  10. Click the Submit button.
  11. This returns you to the Course Discussions page. Click the Grade icon.
  12. Click the Grade button to the right of the student you wish to assign a grade.
  13. This opens a page showing you all of that student's posts to that thread. At the top of the page, key in the student's grade.
  14. Click the Submit button.
  15. Click the OK button to return to the Grade Thread users page. Repeat steps 12, 13, and 14 for your remaining students

The grades that you enter appear in your course's gradebook [Control Panel > Gradebook].

Additional Discussion Board Tools and Features

Search

New: Watch a closed-captioned movie that shows you how to search for a Discussion Board post in BeachBoard [opens a new window]

A Search icon appears in the top right corner of every discussion board page. Click this icon to show or hide the search fields, thus conserving screen space in the Discussion Board.

The search fields include keyword, date and time restrictions, and options for where to search. The search function starts at the current level and options exist to work up. For example, in a thread, the default search option only searches that thread but options exist to search the entire forum or all forums. From the search function, users can search all forums in the course, including any forums that appear in the user’s groups.

Lock a Thread

Locking a thread ensures that users may read the thread but not make any additions or modifications. This allows grades to be assigned without users updating or changing posts.

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains your Discussion Board forum.
  3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
  4. Under Course Tools, click the Discussion Board link.
  5. On the Discussion Boards page, click the name of your course [e.g., 2084_LBCMP_ECON_100_SEC01]
  6. Click the name of the forum whose thread(s) you would like to lock.
  7. Click the checkbox to the left of the thread's name you would like to lock.
  8. In the Change Status to: pull-down list in the top right corner of the page, choose Locked.
  9. Click the Go button.

Add a Link to a Discussion Board Forum in a Content Area

Discussion Board forums can be accessed from the Discussion Board tool that lists all the forums in the course. This centralized view is an easy access point, but there are other ways to access Discussion Board forums that immerse the user in the learning experience. For example, Discussion Board forums can be placed in any content area including BeachBoard's Course Documents and Assignments areas. Thus, a Discussion Board forum may appear following lecture notes on the same topic. Further, using adaptive release or date availability restrictions, the forum may only appear after users complete the lesson or after the Instructor has delivered the lecture in class.

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course in which you would like to add a Discussion Board forum.
  3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
  4. Under Content Areas, click the link for the content area in which you would like to create a forum [e.g., Course Documents]
  5. In the Select: pull-down list in the top right corner of the page, choose Discussion Board
  6. Click the Go button
  7. Choose if you want to
    • Link to your Discussion Board page. This adds a course link to Communication > Discussion Board and will show all of the forums in the course
    • Link to an existing discussion board forum by highlighting the name of that forum in the list that appears on the page.
    • Create a new forum by clicking the Create new forum button. If you choose to create new forum, the Add Forum page opens. The instructions at the top of this page show you how to proceed. Once you have created a new forum, you will be returned to the Add Link: Discussion Board page where you will need to click on the name of your new forum to link to it.
  8. Click the Next button to continue.
  9. Edit the link name. This is optional.
  10. Key in a description of the forum in the Text box. This is also optional.
  11. Choose the appropriate availability and date restrictions.
  12. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.